The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of failing to prosecute contractors involved in the alleged diversion of over N167 billion from 31 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) for unexecuted projects.
Filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos (suit number FHC/L/MISC/121/2025), the lawsuit also names Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi as a respondent.
Deputy Director, SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, in a statement released Sunday, stated the organisation is seeking a court order that would compel the government to take action against the contractors.
“These funds, meant for critical public projects, have instead been siphoned off by contractors who failed to deliver,” SERAP stated. “We are asking the court to direct President Tinubu to ensure these contractors are held accountable.”
The suit follows a 2021 Audited Report from the Auditor-General of the Federation, which revealed that N167 billion was disbursed across various MDAs for projects that were never executed. Notably, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc alone allegedly paid out N100 billion for uncompleted projects.
Other implicated agencies include the Nigerian Correctional Service and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
SERAP argues that this failure to act undermines public goods and services, and demands transparency. “Corruption forces citizens to bear the burden of poor services,” the statement added, stating the need for accountability to prevent further waste and fraud. No hearing date has yet been set for the case.
